"We are slightly in a different stage"- Rahul Dravid hints at axing Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma from T20Is

Following India's humiliating exit from the 2022 T20 World Cup, there were rumours that the BCCI was considering dropping Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma from the team's plans for the shorter format. And now, Indian head coach Rahul Dravid has mentioned it in that context.

All the senior players are not part of the ongoing T20I series between India and Sri Lanka. In the post-match presentation after the loss in the second game on Thursday, Dravid said that the team wanted all the senior players to focus on the ODI format as the mega event would be held in India.

India will host the 2023 ODI World Cup between October and November. That's why all the seniors will be back in the ODI series against Sri Lanka starting on January 10, and Rohit will be back leading the team while Virat Kohli and KL Rahul will also make their comebacks.

Dravid said that after the loss against England in the semi-final of the T20 World Cup, the team is totally new and only 3-4 players are playing from that playing XI. He indicated that the team is looking to build a team for the 2024 T20 World Cup and is planning accordingly.

Dravid said, "We are slightly in a different stage of looking at the next cycle of T20, so ours is a slightly younger team. The good thing is that a lot of focus is on the ODI World Cup and World Test Championship, so the T20s give us the opportunity to try out these guys."

Following the World Cup semi-final exit, speculation about removing senior players from the shorter format arose. Although the Indian head coach didn't name any players, it was quite obvious that they are looking to build a totally new and young team going forward.

That is why the current Indian squad is full of youngsters. Shubman Gill and Shivam Mavi made their debuts in the first game, while Rahul Triphathi played his first game during the second T20I.